ASIA World Destination Management (AWDM) is seeing a return of confidence in Bangkok as a MICE destination. The Thai capital has attracted some 60 per cent of all the DMC’s confirmed MICE groups between January and May.

AWDM director Max Jantasuwan attributed the sudden upsurge in Bangkok’s popularity to pent-up demand over the last two years due to Thai political uncertainty. He said another reason for the recent success could be the DMC’s and Bangkok suppliers’ ability to meet last-minute requests.

AWDM received five last-minute bookings for Bangkok from blue-chip medical companies from Europe and Asia-Pacific between April and May, with a range of 60 to 100 foreign delegates each. On the other hand, enquiries for Phuket, which was in demand last year, have slowed down.

Despite the positive signs, Jantasuwan said onward bookings for Bangkok for the rest of the year were slow, although he was anticipating a high conversion rate of last-minute enquiries into bookings.

The DMC has so far bagged a 450-pax, two-night conference in Bangkok from Asia-Pacific in June, and another 450-pax, one-week conference in Bangkok and Phuket next year.